In 1984 I visited Adelaide for the annual Zookeepers conference, and there was a post conference trip to Monarto Zoo and Gorge Wildlife Park. I remember Gorge being a typical wildlife park, with mainly kangaroos, emus and wallabies, and a few birds. They also had monkeys and a bobcat, odd for a fauna park because – at that time – they usually only had native animals. I took a total of seventeen slides that day which included Swamp Wallabies, a quokka, red kangaroo, albino macropod (looks like a redneck wallaby), cassowary, views of the wallaby walkthrough, the bobcat, an eagle cage and a monkey cage. There were no monkeys visible in the photos, and I can’t for the life of me remember what they were, but I assume they were something I had seen frequently at Taronga (hence the reason I didn’t photograph them). I suspect they were either Squirrel Monkeys, Brown Capuchins or Crab-eating Macaques. The other thing I remember was that Gorge was at a small hamlet called Cudlee Creek which was in the bush, in the middle of nowhere.
In the years since then I have heard Gorge mentioned periodically so I knew it was still around, and had more exotics than previously. I was also aware, from their website, that they had a penchant for albinos. So I thought it was probably appropriate to check it out again and see what changes had been made in the intervening 26 years.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/entrance-sign-159379/
Because there are so many aviaries and enclosures dotted around the place, almost maze-like, it might be better if I address the animal groups as a whole, and not give you a walk around the park, as I will forget to mention something (and I also backtracked a lot). The map below will give you an idea of what the park layout is like.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/map-159398/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/gorge-wildlife-park-159428/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/construction-work-159370/
Disappointingly, reptiles are not well represented. There were two outdoor enclosures for lizards with mainly bluetongues and eastern water dragons, and an enclosure for turtles that included red-eared sliders, long-neck and short-necked turtles in the pond. There was a separate and much larger enclosure for an American Alligator, with a decent sized pond. I don’t recall seeing any snakes on display anywhere in the park.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/lizard-enclosure-159396/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/eastern-bluetongue-159376/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/eastern-water-dragon-159377/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/red-eared-slider-159409/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/turtle-exhibit-159424/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/american-alligator-159257/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/alligator-enclosure-159256/
However, if birds are your thing, then you won’t be disappointed as Gorge has lots of aviaries built around the place, ranging from small aviaries for smaller birds like budgies and wrens, to much larger ones for eagles, to a large shed converted into a walkthrough aviary.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/aviaries-159262/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/aviary-bluefaced-honeyeater-159261/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/aviary-159260/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/aviaries-159259/
Instead of having a label on each aviary identifying the occupants, near a group of aviaries would be a large sign proclaiming “Bird Species you will see in these enclosures include…” and then several different labels would be added to the sign. These individual could be easily taken out and moved around, which would be handy if you move your birds around a lot. Most of these aviaries are the old style - simple pipe frames with chicken wire, concrete and zincalume – but they are spacious and adequately furnished, most with live plants. The birds on display include a wide variety of native parrots, pigeons, finches and softbills.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/bird-labels-159393/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/bird-labels-159392/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/bird-labels-159391/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/parrot-aviary-159403/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/pied-stilt-159404/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-magpie-159435/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-magpie-159436/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-peafowl-159437/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/golden-shouldered-parrot-159384/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/swift-parrot-160300/
Upon entering the park one of the first birds you see – if you see it – is a Tawny Frogmouth sitting on a perch, not even in a cage. Not surprisingly, many people walk straight past without even seeing it unless there are other people looking at it or photographing it. As I watched it I noticed it was constantly twisting its head around to its left, and tilting its head upwards as it twisted. Once it had twisted as far as it could go it would quickly bring its head back to the front and start again. I decided the bird was probably blind in its left eye and continually twisted to see what was happening, but when I asked someone later I was told it was blind in both eyes and twisted its head to be able to accurately hear where people were.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/tawny-frogmouth-display-159423/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/tawny-frogmouth-159422/
On one side of the park, off-limits to the public, is a Parrot Breeding complex with large buildings that look like banks of aviaries specifically designed for breeding parrots, I’m guessing for the pet trade (in order to supplement the park’s funding). I couldn’t see into the aviaries but I did catch a glimpse of Blue Quaker Parrots in one aviary, and some owls in another. There also some suspended aviaries with Red-tailed Black cockatoos, but I think these were holding aviaries as there are other aviaries specifically for breeding Black Cockatoos over on the other side of the park. These have apparently been funded (or at least supported) by a local organisation to help with the conservation of the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo which is endangered in South Australia. Two banks of several aviaries, each with a pair of cockatoos with a choice of nesting sites – a natural hollowlog or a piece of PVC pipe shaped like a log and burnt on the outside to give it a more natural look.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/sign-159412/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/breeding-aviaries-159357/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/breeding-aviaries-159356/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/suspended-aviaries-159417/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/sign-159414/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/sign-yellow-tails-159413/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/black-cockatoo-breeding-aviaries-159350/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/black-cockatoo-breeding-aviaries-159264/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/black-cockatoo-breeding-aviaries-nesting-logs-159351/
Raptors are fairly well represented with both large and small species. Kestrels, Falcons, Goshawks and Kites are found in decent-sized aviaries with plenty of flying space, White-bellied Sea-eagles have an aviary that is adequate in size (but with a bush in the middle that would need to be kept trimmed regularly, and three Wedge-tail Eagles were in a very large, planted aviary.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/grey-goshawk-white-phase-159386/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/sea-eagle-aviary-159411/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/wedgetail-eagle-159430/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/wedgetail-eagle-aviary-159431/
In a similar fashion to the walkthrough aviary at Parndana, the Gorge walkthrough aviary is a very large converted shed. Unlike Parndana’s there is a free flight area in the middle of the shed and aviaries built around the perimeter. The free-flying birds were mainly pigeons, stilts and Musk Lorikeets, but in the aviaries were some species of more interest – Great Bowerbirds, Satin Bowerbirds, Crescent Honeyeaters and their chicks, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Cassowary chicks, and Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters. The Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters are the nominate race and are secure in the wild, but if Gorge can successfully breed and maintain them they could join the Helmeted Honeyeater conservation program (the Helmeted is a critically endangered subspecies of the Yellow-tufted, with around 100 individuals left in the wild).
http://www.zoochat.com/77/walkthrough-aviary-interior-159425/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/walkthrough-aviary-interior-159426/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-breasted-ground-dove-159441/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/nicobar-pigeon-159402/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/musk-lorikeet-159401/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/java-sparrow-159389/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/lady-amherst-pheasant-male-159394/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/great-bowerbird-159385/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/golden-pheasant-male-159383/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/crescent-honeyeater-159375/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/channel-billed-cuckoo-159363/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/cassowary-chicks-159362/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/yellow-tufted-honeyeater-160273/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/yellow-tufted-honeyeater-160274/
Not far away from the aviary was a small bird feeder filled with seed for the wild birds, and there must have been at least 50 Red-browed Firetail Finches gorging themselves on the free feed. I haven’t seen so many wild Red-brows in a long time, so I stopped to take some shots. And a common Bronze-wing joined in the feast too.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/red-browed-firetail-finches-wild-159408/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/red-browed-firetail-finches-wild-159407/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/red-browed-firetail-finches-wild-159406/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/common-bronzewing-female-wild-159364/
Waterbirds are well represented. An aviary, that looked like it was two separate aviaries cobbled together, housed herons, egrets and ibis, and another much larger (and better constructed aviary) had Black-necked stork. An open enclosure with a concrete pool had some pelicans, Egyptian geese and a darter (and a lot of white ibis I suspect were freeloaders) but most of the water birds were on or around the ‘lake’. They call it a lake, but to me it’s just a large pond. All the common zoo waterfowl are present – Australian Wood Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Whistle Ducks, Magpie Geese, Burdekin Duck, White Ibis and Black Swan – but also with a couple of interesting oddities. The first was an Australasian Shoveller, a species I haven’t seen in zoos or parks before. And luckily for me, one was sitting in the sun near the pathway and allowed me to get some nice shots. The other oddity was an almost all-white Black Swan. Very odd-looking, and the red beak seemed to be even more intense in colour than it is in normal black coloured swans. As you can see from the picture, it’s not completely white as there are some black feathers dotted about it.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/black-necked-stork-159355/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/australasian-shoveller-male-eclipse-159258/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/waterfowl-pond-159405/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/waterfowl-159429/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-black-swan-159432/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/magpie-goose-159397/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/burdekin-duck-159358/
An enclosure with some Little Penguins in near the pelicans, but unlike the pelican’s large concrete pool, the penguins had two plastic ponds for swimming. Despite being blue, the fibreglass ponds are the sort you put in your garden for goldfish and although not ideal for penguins it certainly gives them somewhere to swim. I imagine supplying them with plenty of seawater must be a challenge as Cudlee Creek is a fair way from the coast.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/little-penguin-pools-159395/
Ratites are also well represented with cassowaries, emu, rhea and ostrich all on display and as mentioned before, there are a pair of casso chicks in the walkthrough aviary.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/emu-enclosure-159378/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/rhea-160298/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/rhea-enclosure-160299/
As there is no nocturnal house, the native species of mammals kept is not really representative of Australia’s mammalian fauna. The obvious ones are the macropods, and Gorge has a good selection including Grey Kangaroos, Red Kangaroos, Kangaroo Island Kangaroos, Red-necked Wallabies, Tammar Wallabies, Swamp Wallabies, Wallaroo, Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies, Quokka and Red-bellied Pademelons. Many of these were albino.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/walkthrough-macropod-yard-159427/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-red-kangaroo-male-159438/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-kangaroo-159433/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-wallaby-159440/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/tammar-wallabies-159418/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-tammar-wallaby-159439/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-kangaroos-wallabies-159434/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/yellow-footed-rock-wallaby-160271/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/yellow-footed-rock-wallaby-enclosure-160272/
The wombats were asleep (typical) but I was able to view them in their den and see the cream-coloured ones, not quite white but certainly much paler than normal. The koalas were also asleep, as were the Tasmanian Devils, but while the Koala enclosure was standard, the Devils had a nicely planted and very natural-looking enclosure. I didn’t see the devils (probably asleep too), but the at the back of the exhibit was the carcass of something, possibly a sheep or cow. There weren’t any flies around it so it may have been artificial but it certainly looked real, and I forgot to ask when I was leaving. It definitely added a bit of atmosphere to the exhibit.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-cream-common-wombat-159374/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/koala-enclosure-159390/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/tasmanian-devil-exhibit-159421/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/tasmanian-devil-exhibit-159420/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/tasmanian-devil-exhibit-159419/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/carcass-tasmanian-devil-enclosure-159361/
There was a simple aviary-like cage for flying foxes and, according to the map, there were also some dingos but I can’t remember seeing them.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/flying-fox-cage-159382/
As far as exotic mammals go, Gorge has a few. In amongst the bird aviaries are some aviaries with Common Marmosets and Cottontop Tamarins. Both had juveniles and babies present.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/common-marmoset-159365/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/common-marmoset-young-159366/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/common-marmosets-159368/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/infant-common-marmoset-159367/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/common-marmoset-cage-159369/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/cottontop-tamarin-159371/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/cottontop-tamarin-young-159373/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/cottontop-tamarin-cage-159372/
Nearby, a similar aviary planted in a desert theme had some meerkats, and I found this a little disappointing. I have recently commented to friends that I’ve become blasé with meerkats in Australia because everyone’s got them and everyone displays them in the same way – open-topped enclosure, low fence (or medium fence with glass panels), sand substrate with a few logs, rocks and live plants, and plenty of room to run. While I find these exhibits to be boring, they are certainly better than putting meerkats in a cage as Gorge has done. While the aviary is not bad for the animals I still see it as a step backwards as far as displaying this species is concerned. If Gorge plans on breeding up a colony of these guys they will certainly need to provide them with more space than they have now (in my opinion).
http://www.zoochat.com/77/meerkat-enclosure-159400/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/meerkat-enclosure-interior-159399/
Other carnivores at Gorge include Asian Small-clawed Otters (another species I’ve grown very blasé about), Fishing Cat in a rather overgrown cage, and the last Black Leopard in Australia. When I first walked past the leopard he was asleep on an elevated platform in a shaded part of his large cage, a shapeless black blob amongst the shadows (and no good for photos) but when I returned later he was in the sun pacing around the perimeter of the cage.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/small-clawed-otter-enclosure-159415/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/fishing-cat-cage-159381/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/fishing-cat-159380/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/black-leopard-enclosure-159354/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/black-leopard-159352/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/black-leopard-159270/
As well as the marmosets and tamarins, other primates species at Gorge include Spider Monkeys, Japanese Macaques, White-handed Gibbons and Capuchins. The capuchins were not identified on any label I saw but they were White-fronted Capuchins and Brown Capuchins. And there were plenty of capuchins, in at least three cages. Apart from one capuchin cage that was – I think – hexagonal, all the others were square or rectangular affairs, very simple but solid pipe-and-mesh cages. They were well furnished with climbing apparatus, tyres, ropes and nets (the gibbons even had a wine barrel), with a woodchip substrate.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-fronted-capuchin-159442/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/capuchin-cage-159360/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/spider-monkey-cage-159416/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/japanese-macaque-159387/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/japanese-macaque-cage-159388/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/rockmelon-tyre-macaque-cage-159410/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-handed-gibbon-159444/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-handed-gibbons-159443/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-handed-gibbon-cage-160270/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-handed-gibbon-cage-159561/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/barrel-gibbons-159263/
The only other mammals were a pair of young dromedaries that had a paddock with a view over the main road, and they could see the comings and goings at the caravan park down by the river, and an enclosure with agoutis (but I didn’t see any).
http://www.zoochat.com/77/young-dromedaries-159359/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/agouti-enclosure-159255/
There was one last interesting thing about Gorge Wildlife Park that I noticed as I was leaving: despite being about an hours drive through the bush from Adelaide, pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and despite the fact it was a weekday, the carpark was overflowing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gorge Wildlife Park has come a long way since my visit in 1984. As a privately-owned native fauna park it has a lot more to offer than others in terms of diversity of species (mainly because of all the birds on display). However the enclosures (with the odd exception), are very standard, unexciting and look old, although they are in good repair and secure. While they look like what I would expect to be off-exhibit holding facilities in a major zoo, in a fauna park like this I think they are acceptable. The general public are not usually concerned as long as they can see the animals. Most importantly, the exhibits are not injurious to the occupants.
The apparent fondness for white animals is not something I would agree with in a major zoo, but for this establishment it’s a valid resource for attracting guests. And it was certainly with some interest to see the white magpie, swan and wombats.
In case it wasn’t obvious, the opinions expressed above (especially the last two paragraphs) are my own.
If you have been to Gorge and have different views then I encourage you to submit them here for discussion.
If you have not been to Gorge, then I recommend a visit when you get the opportunity.
Hix
In the years since then I have heard Gorge mentioned periodically so I knew it was still around, and had more exotics than previously. I was also aware, from their website, that they had a penchant for albinos. So I thought it was probably appropriate to check it out again and see what changes had been made in the intervening 26 years.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/entrance-sign-159379/
Because there are so many aviaries and enclosures dotted around the place, almost maze-like, it might be better if I address the animal groups as a whole, and not give you a walk around the park, as I will forget to mention something (and I also backtracked a lot). The map below will give you an idea of what the park layout is like.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/map-159398/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/gorge-wildlife-park-159428/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/construction-work-159370/
Disappointingly, reptiles are not well represented. There were two outdoor enclosures for lizards with mainly bluetongues and eastern water dragons, and an enclosure for turtles that included red-eared sliders, long-neck and short-necked turtles in the pond. There was a separate and much larger enclosure for an American Alligator, with a decent sized pond. I don’t recall seeing any snakes on display anywhere in the park.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/lizard-enclosure-159396/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/eastern-bluetongue-159376/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/eastern-water-dragon-159377/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/red-eared-slider-159409/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/turtle-exhibit-159424/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/american-alligator-159257/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/alligator-enclosure-159256/
However, if birds are your thing, then you won’t be disappointed as Gorge has lots of aviaries built around the place, ranging from small aviaries for smaller birds like budgies and wrens, to much larger ones for eagles, to a large shed converted into a walkthrough aviary.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/aviaries-159262/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/aviary-bluefaced-honeyeater-159261/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/aviary-159260/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/aviaries-159259/
Instead of having a label on each aviary identifying the occupants, near a group of aviaries would be a large sign proclaiming “Bird Species you will see in these enclosures include…” and then several different labels would be added to the sign. These individual could be easily taken out and moved around, which would be handy if you move your birds around a lot. Most of these aviaries are the old style - simple pipe frames with chicken wire, concrete and zincalume – but they are spacious and adequately furnished, most with live plants. The birds on display include a wide variety of native parrots, pigeons, finches and softbills.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/bird-labels-159393/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/bird-labels-159392/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/bird-labels-159391/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/parrot-aviary-159403/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/pied-stilt-159404/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-magpie-159435/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-magpie-159436/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-peafowl-159437/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/golden-shouldered-parrot-159384/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/swift-parrot-160300/
Upon entering the park one of the first birds you see – if you see it – is a Tawny Frogmouth sitting on a perch, not even in a cage. Not surprisingly, many people walk straight past without even seeing it unless there are other people looking at it or photographing it. As I watched it I noticed it was constantly twisting its head around to its left, and tilting its head upwards as it twisted. Once it had twisted as far as it could go it would quickly bring its head back to the front and start again. I decided the bird was probably blind in its left eye and continually twisted to see what was happening, but when I asked someone later I was told it was blind in both eyes and twisted its head to be able to accurately hear where people were.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/tawny-frogmouth-display-159423/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/tawny-frogmouth-159422/
On one side of the park, off-limits to the public, is a Parrot Breeding complex with large buildings that look like banks of aviaries specifically designed for breeding parrots, I’m guessing for the pet trade (in order to supplement the park’s funding). I couldn’t see into the aviaries but I did catch a glimpse of Blue Quaker Parrots in one aviary, and some owls in another. There also some suspended aviaries with Red-tailed Black cockatoos, but I think these were holding aviaries as there are other aviaries specifically for breeding Black Cockatoos over on the other side of the park. These have apparently been funded (or at least supported) by a local organisation to help with the conservation of the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo which is endangered in South Australia. Two banks of several aviaries, each with a pair of cockatoos with a choice of nesting sites – a natural hollowlog or a piece of PVC pipe shaped like a log and burnt on the outside to give it a more natural look.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/sign-159412/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/breeding-aviaries-159357/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/breeding-aviaries-159356/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/suspended-aviaries-159417/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/sign-159414/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/sign-yellow-tails-159413/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/black-cockatoo-breeding-aviaries-159350/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/black-cockatoo-breeding-aviaries-159264/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/black-cockatoo-breeding-aviaries-nesting-logs-159351/
Raptors are fairly well represented with both large and small species. Kestrels, Falcons, Goshawks and Kites are found in decent-sized aviaries with plenty of flying space, White-bellied Sea-eagles have an aviary that is adequate in size (but with a bush in the middle that would need to be kept trimmed regularly, and three Wedge-tail Eagles were in a very large, planted aviary.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/grey-goshawk-white-phase-159386/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/sea-eagle-aviary-159411/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/wedgetail-eagle-159430/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/wedgetail-eagle-aviary-159431/
In a similar fashion to the walkthrough aviary at Parndana, the Gorge walkthrough aviary is a very large converted shed. Unlike Parndana’s there is a free flight area in the middle of the shed and aviaries built around the perimeter. The free-flying birds were mainly pigeons, stilts and Musk Lorikeets, but in the aviaries were some species of more interest – Great Bowerbirds, Satin Bowerbirds, Crescent Honeyeaters and their chicks, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Cassowary chicks, and Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters. The Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters are the nominate race and are secure in the wild, but if Gorge can successfully breed and maintain them they could join the Helmeted Honeyeater conservation program (the Helmeted is a critically endangered subspecies of the Yellow-tufted, with around 100 individuals left in the wild).
http://www.zoochat.com/77/walkthrough-aviary-interior-159425/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/walkthrough-aviary-interior-159426/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-breasted-ground-dove-159441/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/nicobar-pigeon-159402/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/musk-lorikeet-159401/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/java-sparrow-159389/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/lady-amherst-pheasant-male-159394/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/great-bowerbird-159385/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/golden-pheasant-male-159383/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/crescent-honeyeater-159375/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/channel-billed-cuckoo-159363/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/cassowary-chicks-159362/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/yellow-tufted-honeyeater-160273/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/yellow-tufted-honeyeater-160274/
Not far away from the aviary was a small bird feeder filled with seed for the wild birds, and there must have been at least 50 Red-browed Firetail Finches gorging themselves on the free feed. I haven’t seen so many wild Red-brows in a long time, so I stopped to take some shots. And a common Bronze-wing joined in the feast too.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/red-browed-firetail-finches-wild-159408/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/red-browed-firetail-finches-wild-159407/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/red-browed-firetail-finches-wild-159406/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/common-bronzewing-female-wild-159364/
Waterbirds are well represented. An aviary, that looked like it was two separate aviaries cobbled together, housed herons, egrets and ibis, and another much larger (and better constructed aviary) had Black-necked stork. An open enclosure with a concrete pool had some pelicans, Egyptian geese and a darter (and a lot of white ibis I suspect were freeloaders) but most of the water birds were on or around the ‘lake’. They call it a lake, but to me it’s just a large pond. All the common zoo waterfowl are present – Australian Wood Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Whistle Ducks, Magpie Geese, Burdekin Duck, White Ibis and Black Swan – but also with a couple of interesting oddities. The first was an Australasian Shoveller, a species I haven’t seen in zoos or parks before. And luckily for me, one was sitting in the sun near the pathway and allowed me to get some nice shots. The other oddity was an almost all-white Black Swan. Very odd-looking, and the red beak seemed to be even more intense in colour than it is in normal black coloured swans. As you can see from the picture, it’s not completely white as there are some black feathers dotted about it.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/black-necked-stork-159355/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/australasian-shoveller-male-eclipse-159258/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/waterfowl-pond-159405/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/waterfowl-159429/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-black-swan-159432/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/magpie-goose-159397/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/burdekin-duck-159358/
An enclosure with some Little Penguins in near the pelicans, but unlike the pelican’s large concrete pool, the penguins had two plastic ponds for swimming. Despite being blue, the fibreglass ponds are the sort you put in your garden for goldfish and although not ideal for penguins it certainly gives them somewhere to swim. I imagine supplying them with plenty of seawater must be a challenge as Cudlee Creek is a fair way from the coast.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/little-penguin-pools-159395/
Ratites are also well represented with cassowaries, emu, rhea and ostrich all on display and as mentioned before, there are a pair of casso chicks in the walkthrough aviary.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/emu-enclosure-159378/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/rhea-160298/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/rhea-enclosure-160299/
As there is no nocturnal house, the native species of mammals kept is not really representative of Australia’s mammalian fauna. The obvious ones are the macropods, and Gorge has a good selection including Grey Kangaroos, Red Kangaroos, Kangaroo Island Kangaroos, Red-necked Wallabies, Tammar Wallabies, Swamp Wallabies, Wallaroo, Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies, Quokka and Red-bellied Pademelons. Many of these were albino.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/walkthrough-macropod-yard-159427/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-red-kangaroo-male-159438/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-kangaroo-159433/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-wallaby-159440/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/tammar-wallabies-159418/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-tammar-wallaby-159439/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-kangaroos-wallabies-159434/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/yellow-footed-rock-wallaby-160271/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/yellow-footed-rock-wallaby-enclosure-160272/
The wombats were asleep (typical) but I was able to view them in their den and see the cream-coloured ones, not quite white but certainly much paler than normal. The koalas were also asleep, as were the Tasmanian Devils, but while the Koala enclosure was standard, the Devils had a nicely planted and very natural-looking enclosure. I didn’t see the devils (probably asleep too), but the at the back of the exhibit was the carcass of something, possibly a sheep or cow. There weren’t any flies around it so it may have been artificial but it certainly looked real, and I forgot to ask when I was leaving. It definitely added a bit of atmosphere to the exhibit.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-cream-common-wombat-159374/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/koala-enclosure-159390/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/tasmanian-devil-exhibit-159421/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/tasmanian-devil-exhibit-159420/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/tasmanian-devil-exhibit-159419/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/carcass-tasmanian-devil-enclosure-159361/
There was a simple aviary-like cage for flying foxes and, according to the map, there were also some dingos but I can’t remember seeing them.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/flying-fox-cage-159382/
As far as exotic mammals go, Gorge has a few. In amongst the bird aviaries are some aviaries with Common Marmosets and Cottontop Tamarins. Both had juveniles and babies present.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/common-marmoset-159365/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/common-marmoset-young-159366/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/common-marmosets-159368/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/infant-common-marmoset-159367/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/common-marmoset-cage-159369/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/cottontop-tamarin-159371/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/cottontop-tamarin-young-159373/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/cottontop-tamarin-cage-159372/
Nearby, a similar aviary planted in a desert theme had some meerkats, and I found this a little disappointing. I have recently commented to friends that I’ve become blasé with meerkats in Australia because everyone’s got them and everyone displays them in the same way – open-topped enclosure, low fence (or medium fence with glass panels), sand substrate with a few logs, rocks and live plants, and plenty of room to run. While I find these exhibits to be boring, they are certainly better than putting meerkats in a cage as Gorge has done. While the aviary is not bad for the animals I still see it as a step backwards as far as displaying this species is concerned. If Gorge plans on breeding up a colony of these guys they will certainly need to provide them with more space than they have now (in my opinion).
http://www.zoochat.com/77/meerkat-enclosure-159400/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/meerkat-enclosure-interior-159399/
Other carnivores at Gorge include Asian Small-clawed Otters (another species I’ve grown very blasé about), Fishing Cat in a rather overgrown cage, and the last Black Leopard in Australia. When I first walked past the leopard he was asleep on an elevated platform in a shaded part of his large cage, a shapeless black blob amongst the shadows (and no good for photos) but when I returned later he was in the sun pacing around the perimeter of the cage.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/small-clawed-otter-enclosure-159415/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/fishing-cat-cage-159381/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/fishing-cat-159380/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/black-leopard-enclosure-159354/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/black-leopard-159352/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/black-leopard-159270/
As well as the marmosets and tamarins, other primates species at Gorge include Spider Monkeys, Japanese Macaques, White-handed Gibbons and Capuchins. The capuchins were not identified on any label I saw but they were White-fronted Capuchins and Brown Capuchins. And there were plenty of capuchins, in at least three cages. Apart from one capuchin cage that was – I think – hexagonal, all the others were square or rectangular affairs, very simple but solid pipe-and-mesh cages. They were well furnished with climbing apparatus, tyres, ropes and nets (the gibbons even had a wine barrel), with a woodchip substrate.
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-fronted-capuchin-159442/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/capuchin-cage-159360/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/spider-monkey-cage-159416/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/japanese-macaque-159387/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/japanese-macaque-cage-159388/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/rockmelon-tyre-macaque-cage-159410/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-handed-gibbon-159444/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-handed-gibbons-159443/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-handed-gibbon-cage-160270/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/white-handed-gibbon-cage-159561/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/barrel-gibbons-159263/
The only other mammals were a pair of young dromedaries that had a paddock with a view over the main road, and they could see the comings and goings at the caravan park down by the river, and an enclosure with agoutis (but I didn’t see any).
http://www.zoochat.com/77/young-dromedaries-159359/
http://www.zoochat.com/77/agouti-enclosure-159255/
There was one last interesting thing about Gorge Wildlife Park that I noticed as I was leaving: despite being about an hours drive through the bush from Adelaide, pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and despite the fact it was a weekday, the carpark was overflowing.
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Gorge Wildlife Park has come a long way since my visit in 1984. As a privately-owned native fauna park it has a lot more to offer than others in terms of diversity of species (mainly because of all the birds on display). However the enclosures (with the odd exception), are very standard, unexciting and look old, although they are in good repair and secure. While they look like what I would expect to be off-exhibit holding facilities in a major zoo, in a fauna park like this I think they are acceptable. The general public are not usually concerned as long as they can see the animals. Most importantly, the exhibits are not injurious to the occupants.
The apparent fondness for white animals is not something I would agree with in a major zoo, but for this establishment it’s a valid resource for attracting guests. And it was certainly with some interest to see the white magpie, swan and wombats.
In case it wasn’t obvious, the opinions expressed above (especially the last two paragraphs) are my own.
If you have been to Gorge and have different views then I encourage you to submit them here for discussion.
If you have not been to Gorge, then I recommend a visit when you get the opportunity.
Hix
